You should say the name! I'll pass it along to my dad and I bet he would go support them. Especially since he well remembers the crepe he got after Vietnam, he will (well, my whole family will) generally support any business that does a little extra.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

So I've been writing to a lot of businesses that would be appealing to the 20-25 year old gainfully employed single male demographic asking for donations to put in gift bags for our single sailors returning from deployment. It's tough work because I can't really solicit on behalf of the boat directly (because it could lead to charges that they were bribing the government or something and we have to be super careful to be clear that people are NOT giving to the ship, and I can't solicit officially as the so-and-so position's wife) and our family group is not a 501(c)3 because we're really too small. So it's mostly a lot of nos or stony silence.

But one of the first two places I contacted is being amazingly generous and basically giving us gift cards for every single sailor to have a meal there. I don't want to say the name here, but they're also one of my favorite omni regional chain "fast casual" places to visit as a vegan, and while I'm sure most of the sailors aren't going to use their cards to get a vegan meal it still makes me extra happy.

It must've been beginner's luck because I've yet to hear anything since from anyone, but still. I'm glad it's a place I can feel good having awesome feelings about.

That is so awesome! I bet the single sailors are going to be so psyched to get such a nice gift! And go you for doing something so kind!

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Well, there are a few reasons I don't want to say - we don't actually have them in hand yet, I want it to be a surprise to the sailors, and I don't want people to stumble across this on google and have them suddenly get inundated with requests from local ships if they're not prepared to give out cards to, say, a whole carrier. But they're pretty much exclusive to the Southwest US, I think.

A friend of mine from my a cappella group is making desserts for another friend from the group's birthday this weekend and emailed me this afternoon to ask me how to make them vegan. It was both really sweet in and of itself, and also it reminded me of how lucky I am with these people who are always super respectful of my veganism. We all have dinner together at someone's house before rehearsal most weeks and everyone is always so good about making sure there's something for me.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

I just got back from a 10 day tour with my 10 person band. only 4/10 people are vegan, but i was amazed at how open every single person was to going out of our way to find restaurants that everyone could eat at. The non vegans were completely comfortable eating vegan and even went out of their way to look up vegan restaurants wherever we went. I"d say they ended up eating 50% of their meals vegan and even went to places like lovin' hut and a couple other vegan restaurants just to make sure everyone got fed. I'm so lucky to associate with people who are so easy going and open to supporting everyone. I mean, it probably helped that when we were in NYC and a couple members took off separately to have a little bit of a meat fest, no one opposed and kind of just let them be.

I've got 3 work friends in my small office - 3! - who are interested in making the switch to animal-free diets. Two are taking the initial baby steps (cutting out meat, switching to non-dairy milk, etc) after reading books, seeing documentaries, and seeing the food I bring in, and they are full of questions and committed to at the very least going meatless. My other friend has already borrowed and copied recipes from VEW, I've turned her on to the PPK recipes, and every night she sends me a text and a pic of what she made for dinner. One convert at a time... Not only am I excited that they are doing something good for themselves and the animals, but I'm excited to have someone IRL to take recipes with!

I went to a wedding on Sunday to watch the kids I nanny for and there were delicious vegan options! The mom had told me that they were planning on having vegan options at the wedding since a lot of the brides friends are veg, but I was still not expecting much. I didn't get to serve myself since I was off with the kids, but the parents brought me a plate of herb roasted tofu (so good!) and a wild rice salad. It was all super delicious! And later when I went with the kids to get them cupcakes, I heard a server telling a guest what ice cream flavors they had and one was dairy free! It was awesome.

I went out to eat with my 80-year-plus grandmother and one of her friends at the country club (which had awesome vegan food). My grandmother and her friend were talking about how great it is that vegan food is everywhere now. We got onto the subject of eggs somehow, and my grandmother's friend said, "Oh, there's a kind of eggs vegans can eat. My vegan neighbors told me about them." She was so excited to tell me about the vegan eggs, and I was dreading explaining the problems with cage-free eggs.

It turns out her neighbors told her about flax eggs, and she thought a flax egg was a kind of egg. And then we all agreed that vegan food is delicious, and it's silly of people to think otherwise. I love having my negative expectations subverted!

I went to a party yesterday and even though it was a big group, the host made me a veggie burger sandwich while everyone else was eating pizza. Like, I didn't even have to put it together myself, he condimented it up and everything and delivered it to where I was sitting. And then, even though everyone saw what was going on, no one said anything and I got to sit and enjoy my food in peace. Win!!

I went to a party yesterday and even though it was a big group, the host made me a veggie burger sandwich while everyone else was eating pizza. Like, I didn't even have to put it together myself, he condimented it up and everything and delivered it to where I was sitting. And then, even though everyone saw what was going on, no one said anything and I got to sit and enjoy my food in peace. Win!!

This strikes me as a huge win.

Dad loved Snobby Joes tonight! And they were tasty even without chili powder or bell peppers. Happy to have found a vegan dish that isn't pasta to give him.

_________________Anyone for some German Shepherd Pie? - daisychainWell! Fruit is stupid! These onions taste nothing like fruit! - allularpunkDwarf-tossing for God: A Story of Hope - Invictus

She was so excited to tell me about the vegan eggs, and I was dreading explaining the problems with cage-free eggs.

It turns out her neighbors told her about flax eggs, and she thought a flax egg was a kind of egg. And then we all agreed that vegan food is delicious, and it's silly of people to think otherwise. I love having my negative expectations subverted!

That's so sweet! And how cool that the country club serves good vegan food.

I made muffins and a pie last night. I took them to my family's house today. While they found the pie very heavy they thought it tasted great. Even the 13yr old super fussy eater polished off a decent slice of it. My uncle was raving about the muffins. God bless Julie Hasson and her recipes!

i attended an event on campus yesterday, that stated in the description that there would be free pizza with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. unfortunately, i arrived an hour late, so i wasn't expecting there to be any pizza left. after opening empty boxes all along the table, i open the box labeled VEGAN, and find a WHOLE FORKING PIZZA, untouched. after the event, one of the coordinators noticed that i was the only person who took any of the vegan pizza, and asked if i wanted to take the rest; i declined, because i wasn't about to carry a huge box of pizza on the bus, but i did grab the small, lone, untouched gluten-free/vegan pizza, to share with my friend who is gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and potato free at lunch today.

I went to a friend's kids first birthday party, and she made sure I had stuff to eat and that stuff was clear. I mean, it was mainly chips and dips (pita/hummus and tortilla/salsa) but whatever! There was something, and the pita chips were so, so good.

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

Mandatory important work meeting and I have a choice between FOUR vegan options. And I'm pretty sure the sides included (fruit or pasta salad and a cookie) will be vegan, too. I have the best coworkers.

A close friend is having a huge catered engagement party in a couple of weeks. I hadn't put much thought in the meal part of the evening, thinking I would eat a light meal before going, bring a snack and not expect too much. She called me yesterday and was so excited to tell me that the chef at the hall is vegetarian and is going to make me a special vegan meal. I have no idea what it will be and I wont get my hopes up too high, but the fact that my friend was so excited was really sweet and warmed my heart :)

I will still put a couple snacks in the car, LOL.

_________________Anyone for some German Shepherd Pie? - daisychainWell! Fruit is stupid! These onions taste nothing like fruit! - allularpunkDwarf-tossing for God: A Story of Hope - Invictus

More a PPK-filter-related awesome, but someone posted the following on FB:

"Looking for a night of laughs, hors d'oeuvres and wine? You won't find a better (or more affordable) date night in the Upstate. For tonight only, you get the show and a delightful intermission with moi for the price of ONE Ticket!!!! Pick up the phone and call (864) 646-8100!"

I cannot stop snickering and wanting to reply with something silly that this poor person would in no way comprehend.

More a PPK-filter-related awesome, but someone posted the following on FB:

"Looking for a night of laughs, hors d'oeuvres and wine? You won't find a better (or more affordable) date night in the Upstate. For tonight only, you get the show and a delightful intermission with moi for the price of ONE Ticket!!!! Pick up the phone and call (864) 646-8100!"

I cannot stop snickering and wanting to reply with something silly that this poor person would in no way comprehend.

There's a vegetarian food truck in Denton, Texas, called Shiitake Swerves and they refer to their fans as shiitake-heads.

I was on Barnes and Noble today, and these two kids (maybe 18?) were like, "Oh! Here's the vegetarian section! Vegetarian and vegan! I love seeing that word!"

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

I'm going to a wedding this weekend and my friend who's getting married just emailed to tell me exactly what I could eat there, and I get to have one of the cocktail hour appetizers (avocado mousse!) and a chocolate cupcake!! (also some real food but whatevs - just knowing I get a cupcake makes me soooo happy!)